GM Towers on the Hoffman situation: 'We just don't have the money'

It appears the Padres will allow Trevor Hoffman to join the Dodgers or Brewers without putting an offer back on the table for the all-time saves leader.

Blame it on a budget squeeze that will slash the payroll to $40 million, said Kevin Towers, the general manger of a front office under orders from owner John Moores to slash the payroll to near its 1997 level and some 40 percent lower than last year's Opening Day projection.

“It's not that we don't want Trevor back,” Towers said. “We just don't have the money.”

Rick Thurman, the agent for Hoffman, told the Los Angeles Times late Wednesday that Hoffman will decide Thursday between reportedly similar offers from the Dodgers and Brewers that would be for one year guaranteed, with an option for a second.

If the longtime Padres star signs with Los Angeles, “Hells Bells” will ring in Chavez Ravine next season as Hoffman exits the home bullpen at Dodger Stadium.

“I would play 'Hells Bells,' ” Dodgers executive Charles Steinberg said in a telephone interview, emphasizing that he had no idea how the Hoffman negotiations will turn out. “I would want Trevor to be comfortable and have a seamless transition.”

Steinberg was the Padres exec who approved “Hells Bells” as the theme song for Hoffman in 1998. The combination of Hoffman's ruthless efficiency and AC/DC's screams and guitar riffs became a San Diego favorite, and Towers Wednesday spoke unhappily of the prospect of Hoffman, 41, wearing any other team's uniform.

“This guy is kind of the stabilizer, even during rough times for this organization,” said Towers, who as a rookie GM in November 1995 inherited Hoffman as his closer. “We certainly realize he may be gone. It's hard to imagine going into the season and not have him walking through the center-field gate. That's all I have known. It certainly would be a huge loss not only to our club but to our fans and community.

“Do we want to see him in a Dodgers uniform or a Brewers uniform? Absolutely not.”

But a $40 million payroll wasn't achieved by the December trade of Khalil Greene's $6.5 million contract to the Cardinals.

More than $1 million apiece will go to Hoffman's likely successor, Heath Bell, and outfielder Scott Hairston, who are eligible for arbitration. That leaves about $7 million for the other 32 unsigned players. Signing Hoffman would eat more than half of that amount.

As it is, the Padres still need to chop some $5 million to align their budget at $40 million. They could float an Opening Day payroll above $40 million in anticipation of trading Giles this summer, should the club be out of contention. But the risk of an injury to Giles, and Giles' ability to veto a trade, sharply discourages such a gamble.

Moores, who is going through a divorce, is in the process of selling the team and has an agreement in principle with a group led by former Diamondbacks General Partner Jeff Moorad, for more than $400 million, according to sources.